Guitars

[PlanktonSideburns]

You've got a point, but I fucking love my stripped down, no frills riff machine Jazzmaster:

I think it's the sunburst that makes the other one look lame

In black it's got a panther like charm

[Spiteface]

You've got a point, but I fucking love my stripped down, no frills riff machine Jazzmaster:

That is cool, I will admit to that. That's the Jim Root sig, isn't it? Admittedly you could be playing an oar with EMGs in it and achive a similar result, but that does have an appeal to it.

It just bugs me when Fender makes things like this:

No. Strat tremolo units on a Jazzmaster is just wrong. I may be a Les Paul man most of the time, but if I go Fender it's most likely a Jazzmaster and I really like the Jazzmaster trem.

[Shit Good Nose]

Pictured: The bastard offspring of a Jazzmaster and a 335.

Mr Gibson, Miss Fender, I'm afraid there were...complications...

[Ferris]

That is cool, I will admit to that. That's the Jim Root sig, isn't it? Admittedly you could be playing an oar with EMGs in it and achive a similar result, but that does have an appeal to it.

It just bugs me when Fender makes things like this:

No. Strat tremolo units on a Jazzmaster is just wrong. I may be a Les Paul man most of the time, but if I go Fender it's most likely a Jazzmaster and I really like the Jazzmaster trem.

The jazz master tremolo is shit though. Looks great, but barely functional. You could probably get a jazzmaster trem bar in the strat bridge as a compromise. I found having the trem bar right there meant I used it all the time and it was fun but knocked everything out of tune and probably impacted my playing...

[NattyDread 2]

Anyone got any tips for buying an acoustic? I've had a £20 argos classical job sitting about for years since I punted off my leccy guitar. It sounds nice to my ears on the rare occasions I pick it up, but more recently I've been getting back into it.
I'm enjoying twatting about with finger-picking folk
and blues stuff and have got to thinking it might be much more enjoyable on a steel strung acoustic with better action.
Are there any under the radar 2nd hand bargains to look out for, or new ones at a good price? And of course, what should I avoid? Wouldn't want to spend more than about £150ish. Less if possible. Is it pot luck at that price point? I'd appreciate any advice.

[Pauline Walnuts]

The jazz master tremolo is shit though. Looks great, but barely functional. You could probably get a jazzmaster trem bar in the strat bridge as a compromise. I found having the trem bar right there meant I used it all the time and it was fun but knocked everything out of tune and probably impacted my playing...

Apparently they were designed in the days of heavy strings on electic guitars none of this 9s flappy nonsense, and need more down pressure to work, shimming the neck to increase the break angle helps. And the section of the bride when the strings run over is supposed to move with the strings. Some people damp it so it can't move and that makes it worse.

As I say, apparently, I've never owned one.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Anyone got any tips for buying an acoustic? I've had a £20 argos classical job sitting about for years since I punted off my leccy guitar. It sounds nice to my ears on the rare occasions I pick it up, but more recently I've been getting back into it.
I'm enjoying twatting about with finger-picking folk
and blues stuff and have got to thinking it might be much more enjoyable on a steel strung acoustic with better action.
Are there any under the radar 2nd hand bargains to look out for, or new ones at a good price? And of course, what should I avoid? Wouldn't want to spend more than about £150ish. Less if possible. Is it pot luck at that price point? I'd appreciate any advice.

yamaha have some lovely cheap second hand acoustics, always seem to be a cheap brand second hand

also never played a tanglewood i didnt like

also, those fancy elixir nanoweb coated strings seem to add 50quid to a guitars valuesound to my ears. last long enough to warrant the price also

[famethrowa]

Anyone got any tips for buying an acoustic?

Seconding on Tanglewood. They're pretty good.

[kalowski]

I'm still gonna buy a jaguar. This one, since I can't afford a real one

[easytarget]

That is cool, I will admit to that. That's the Jim Root sig, isn't it? Admittedly you could be playing an oar with EMGs in it and achive a similar result, but that does have an appeal to it.

Yep. Jim Root. I'm not a massive Slipknot fan but there was something very appealing about this guitar. The neck feels fantastic, I was worried about the not-maple (ebony) fingerboard. And the EMGs sound huge. I want to put them in all my guitars.

[NattyDread 2]

yamaha have some lovely cheap second hand acoustics, always seem to be a cheap brand second hand

also never played a tanglewood i didnt like

also, those fancy elixir nanoweb coated strings seem to add 50quid to a guitars valuesound to my ears. last long enough to warrant the price also

Thanks. That's all good to know. I did wonder about Yamahas as there are usually loads of them knocking about on the free ads.

[DJ Bob Hoskins]

I'm still gonna buy a jaguar. This one, since I can't afford a real one

If you really have your heart set on a 'real' one, and can wait long enough to save up another €200 you could get one of the recent 60's Vintera models. They're quality instruments and (almost) vintage spec.

My first Jaguar was a Squier VM which I got a few years ago and went about upgrading with Fender & Staytrem parts (tremolo unit, bridge, shimmed the neck too), but I decided to sell that and get a Vintera and I'm glad I did. It sounds and plays like a proper Jaguar. Behold its beauty / avert your eyes, unworthy swine:

Apparently they were designed in the days of heavy strings on electic guitars none of this 9s flappy nonsense, and need more down pressure to work, shimming the neck to increase the break angle helps. And the section of the bride when the strings run over is supposed to move with the strings. Some people damp it so it can't move and that makes it worse.

As I say, apparently, I've never owned one.

^ I can vouch for all of the above. The tremolo isn't a problem in itself, in fact when it's set up properly I'd say it's the best there is. But the point is that Jaguars and Jazzmasters really need to be set up properly in order to get the best out of them.

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

I'd get the bridge swapped for a mustang one. The original Jazzmaster bridges are an abomination.

[kalowski]

Oh, baby I'm in love. This is the one I fancy:

[Cuellar]

yamaha have some lovely cheap second hand acoustics, always seem to be a cheap brand second hand

also never played a tanglewood i didnt like

also, those fancy elixir nanoweb coated strings seem to add 50quid to a guitars valuesound to my ears. last long enough to warrant the price also

Yeah I'd endorse all of this (although I've never played a Tanglewood). I've got a crappy old Yamaha and some elixir strings that I haven't actually changed for years to be honest but they're great anyway.

[kalowski]

I've always found it weird that when there are such beautiful guitars, such as:

or

That some people would want one of these

[Ferris]

My 335 is the only guitar I have that didn't get stuck in storage on the grounds that it is a piece of aesthetically pleasing sculpture

[easytarget]

That some people would want one of these

Very popular with some djentlemen.
7(+) string guitars tend to be pretty ugly, at best they look pointy and 80s at worst - the one above.

[drummersaredeaf]

I have one of these.

Is it practical? No.
Does it sound good? No.
Is it playable. No.
But do I look sexy while I play it?

Also no.

[kalowski]

Very popular with some djentlemen.
7(+) string guitars tend to be pretty ugly, at best they look pointy and 80s at worst - the one above.

Hadn't even spotted the seventh string. How the fuck does that work? 6, yes. 12, yep, I get that. But that 7th string is the same distance as typical, not doubled up like a 12 string.

[drummersaredeaf]

For some reason my pic has gone missing. I'd hate for someone to think I had a 7 string.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Hadn't even spotted the seventh string. How the fuck does that work? 6, yes. 12, yep, I get that. But that 7th string is the same distance as typical, not doubled up like a 12 string.

I think the extra string's commonly a low B for metal etc.

[easytarget]

Yep - gives you access to very low notes without having to detune all your strings to super slack.
Neat idea but i always think the guitars look horrible and hard to play.

[popcorn]

I'm thinking of buying a new delay pedal, just for fun. I already have a Memory Boy and an Akai Headrush (though I use that almost exclusively for looping).

Any good ones? I'm considering the Space Echo or the Line DL4.

[Ferris]

I'm thinking of buying a new delay pedal, just for fun. I already have a Memory Boy and an Akai Headrush (though I use that almost exclusively for looping).

Any good ones? I'm considering the Space Echo or the Line DL4.

I swear by the Boss DD-3. Used to have 2 of them in my pedalboard back in the day, one for quick spring reverb and one for longer delay (and both, keeping the level full on one and modulating the delay speed to make spaceship noises and annoy the soundman). It does all of these things very well.

I've used a DD-7 but I couldn't tell you why it is 4 better than the DD-3.

Edit: just remembered I have a TC Ditto Looper, but I hardly ever have it connected because the functionality is so basic it is barely useful for anything. Probably says more about me than the pedal

[Neville Chamberlain]

Just got myself one of these:



Neither interesting nor rare - but outstanding value for money!

[ArtParrott]

I'm thinking of buying a new delay pedal, just for fun. I already have a Memory Boy and an Akai Headrush (though I use that almost exclusively for looping).

Any good ones? I'm considering the Space Echo or the Line DL4.

Obviously the DL4 is a modern classic but if you're a big fan of tape echos have you thought the Strymon El Capistan? I got one last year and as well as sounding amazing it's also a lot of fun (look up the sound on sound looping feature for an example of what I mean).

If that's out of budget then maybe look at the stereo memory man, which is also a lot of fun but probably not as good as the DL4.

(Those space echos have always seemed really cool as well but I've never played one)

[popcorn]

Obviously the DL4 is a modern classic but if you're a big fan of tape echos have you thought the Strymon El Capistan? I got one last year and as well as sounding amazing it's also a lot of fun (look up the sound on sound looping feature for an example of what I mean).

Not heard of this, ta, will look into it.

I love the classic Space Echo sound, and I really like the sound of the twist feature that lets you change the timing and get the classic repitching effects.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

if you're wanting a more "hands on" delay for buggering about with the knobs and making cool sounds rather than just kicking it on and playing the guitar then you probably can't go wrong with the DL4 since it has all those other settings in it too. And yeah the strymons definitely worth a look as is the catalinbread echorec. Depends how much you're looking to spend right now i guess, suppose now's as good a time as any for going all out with kit you might have lots more time to play with.

[popcorn]

Yes, I'm looking for some new hobby investments. Ideally now I'd go to a shop and spend a bit of time trying everything they've got before making a decision, but that seems less sensible atm.